By: Brian Field With the ever-changing climate of technology, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) continues to make patient-centered modifications intended to protect personal health records. Key components to the most recent updates to HIPAA include prohibition of records withholding. The inspiration for the recent changes come from…
Articles Posted in EHR
Electronic Health Record-Related Malpractice Claims Tripled in Ten Years
A sign of the times in the evolution of modern healthcare practice is the prevalence of the electronic health record (EHR). In the past fifty years, technological advances and payer incentives have resulted in a sea of change in healthcare documentation, causing healthcare providers to shift from the historic practice…
An Ounce of Prevention: Identify and Mitigate HIPAA Compliance Issues to Avoid Costly HIPAA Penalties
An unencrypted thumb drive cost a dermatology practice $150,000. On December 26, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced a settlement with Adult & Pediatric Dermatology, P.C. of Concord, Massachusetts (APD) of alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). APD,…
The EHR Improvements Act: a Bill to Exempt Solo and Retirement-Age Physicians From Meaningful Use Medicare Penalty
The “EHR Improvements Act,” a bill (HR 1309) recently introduced by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), would, if passed, mean that doctors close to retirement age might not incur Medicare payment cuts as a result of failing to implement an electronic health record (EHRs) system. Additionally, the bill would make solo…